It’s almost a two gaming podcast week as we’re releasing this episode “wicked early” — sorry, we’re from New England. Derrick’s heading off to Germany on business and we’d hate to miss a week because of the trip, so here you go. This week we flash back to Pac-Man, cover some gaming history on Disney Interactive Studio and plow through some game news:
Ex-Ensemble Studios Folks Form New Studio- NCSoft Profits Down
- Activision Threatening to sue EA
- Microsoft Opening Retail Chain
- Square Enix to Buy Eidos
- Midway files chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
This week we’re asking the listeners the question, do you believe Microsoft will be successful opening a retail chain? We also handle a few user comments including one regarding Don’s rapping career or lack of a career.
Now here is another interesting video game for the Atari 2600, the game Dragon Fire consisted of two game screens, one which you ran across a bridge while fireballs were shot at you, you had to duck or jump over the fireball. This screen was a side-scroller style screen (although it doesn’t actually scroll), at the other end of the bridge was a castle door which you’d enter to get to the next screen.
When you finished collecting all the treasure an exit would pop up in the corner and you had to run to it without being burned by the fireballs, that dragon would turn from left to right nearly instantly too! Then, you’d jump into the exit and be back on the bridge again, but this time it was harder. You could die up to 7 times before the game was over (just to show you how hard it is, they gave you a bunch of lives).
your.editor.is.SERIOUS.f’ed.up.no.really.
your.editor.is.SERIOUS.f’ed.up.no.really.
Sam Neill is an Irish actor with a New Zealand accent – he played Dr. Alan Grant in the first Jurassic Park – AND the third Jurassic Park. (Funny how he skipped the 2nd, and Jeff Goldblum skipped the third. Weirdness.) He was also the lead in In the Mouth of Madness – and his highest acclaimed film was playing the husband of Holly Hunter in The Piano.
Anyway, Event Horizon was a horror version of Solaris, and Neill was the sympathetic villian who eventually becomes a Cenobite (unofficially, but the character was a reference to the Hellraiser films.) The hero was played by Laurence Fishbourne. The film was not well received on release, but it has aged well, especially the final 5 minutes, and fans hope that the unreleased full version is somehow cobbled together and re-released.
Sam Neill is an Irish actor with a New Zealand accent – he played Dr. Alan Grant in the first Jurassic Park – AND the third Jurassic Park. (Funny how he skipped the 2nd, and Jeff Goldblum skipped the third. Weirdness.) He was also the lead in In the Mouth of Madness – and his highest acclaimed film was playing the husband of Holly Hunter in The Piano.
Anyway, Event Horizon was a horror version of Solaris, and Neill was the sympathetic villian who eventually becomes a Cenobite (unofficially, but the character was a reference to the Hellraiser films.) The hero was played by Laurence Fishbourne. The film was not well received on release, but it has aged well, especially the final 5 minutes, and fans hope that the unreleased full version is somehow cobbled together and re-released.
Answering the question of the week: my favorite Disney video game is TRON 2.0, published by Buena Vista (Disney’s VG division) and developed by Monolith (of No One Lives Forever and F.E.A.R. fame) It was a Disney licensed game, too, and cleverly tied in the original film – apparently, the movie and arcade game TRON are based on Kevin Flynn’s experiences, for example. It was awesome, but had its share of problems. It was nice use of Bruce Boxleitner, but I felt Cindy Morgan was underused, and the game ended with a “To Be Continued” which was never resolved. The multiplayer was criminally underdeveloped – it could have been so much more.
Otherwise, where else could you kill someone with a L.O.L.?
Answering the question of the week: my favorite Disney video game is TRON 2.0, published by Buena Vista (Disney’s VG division) and developed by Monolith (of No One Lives Forever and F.E.A.R. fame) It was a Disney licensed game, too, and cleverly tied in the original film – apparently, the movie and arcade game TRON are based on Kevin Flynn’s experiences, for example. It was awesome, but had its share of problems. It was nice use of Bruce Boxleitner, but I felt Cindy Morgan was underused, and the game ended with a “To Be Continued” which was never resolved. The multiplayer was criminally underdeveloped – it could have been so much more.
Otherwise, where else could you kill someone with a L.O.L.?